Act Now Worker

Overview

Are you passionate about making a real difference to the lives of children? Do you thrive in fast‑paced, emotionally rich environments where no two days are the same?

We are excited to be expanding our ACT NOW project — a vital and innovative service providing immediate mentoring and safeguarding support to children in Police custody. As an Act Now Worker, you will play a key role in preventing offending, supporting families, and offering children a safe, trusted adult at the moments they need it most. This is meaningful, hands‑on work that directly impacts outcomes for children.

This is a fixed term/secondment role until March 2027. The role requires evenings and weekend working. Working hours include 1.30-10pm on a week day and shifts on both Saturday’s and Sunday’s.

About the role

As an Act Now Worker, you will provide responsive, high‑quality mentoring and support to children who enter Police custody with eligible offences. Working as part of a rota that includes evenings and weekends (between 9am–10pm), you’ll ensure children are seen quickly, supported effectively, and given every opportunity to make positive choices. You will then continue to support these children through assessment, planning and intervention.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing youth work and mentoring interventions using the “Stay True to You” approach
• Responding to requests from Police and attending custody suites within set timescales
• Managing a varied caseload and completing holistic assessments of need
• Working in partnership with families, Police, YJST colleagues, and wider services
• Maintaining accurate case records and contributing to project reporting
• Engaging in bi‑monthly coordination meetings and ongoing professional development
• Using a whole‑family approach to assessment and intervention
• Gathering meaningful feedback from children and families to drive service improvement

You’ll be part of a committed, supportive team who share a passion for improving outcomes for children. Full supervision and development opportunities are provided.

 

About you

You’ll bring energy, empathy, and a genuine desire to support children. You’ll be confident working in emotive situations and able to build trust quickly with children who may be scared, confused, or facing significant challenges.

We’re looking for someone who has:

• Experience in youth work, mentoring, or working within/alongside the Youth Justice system
• Strong assessment, planning, and intervention skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to motivate and influence
• The confidence to work independently and manage competing demands
• The ability to work predominantly evenings and weekends
• Accurate recording, report‑writing, and data‑handling abilities
• Knowledge of Police or Youth Justice legislation (desirable but not essential)
• The ability to engage children voluntarily and advocate for their needs
• A commitment to working collaboratively across services

You will also need to:

• Work flexibly, including evenings and weekends
• Hold a full driving licence and be able to travel across the county
• Live within 60 minutes of Aylesbury Police Station
• Converse confidently with the public in spoken English

 

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact  Jenni Hathaway, Service Manager at [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Sunday 22nd March

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/